


Lost Boys

by thecattydddy



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel (House of M), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - House of M, Derogatory Language, Explicit Language, Family, Gen, Mutant Hate, The Purists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 19:33:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8026210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecattydddy/pseuds/thecattydddy
Summary: The world is crumbling around them and all Pietro cares about is making his family - Especially his sister, Wanda - safe. But when a spell gone wrong sends him 18 months into the future, half-way across the world and into the middle of what can only be described as the shambles left behind post-apocalypse, Pietro is stuck to care for his two nephews as they all try to find a way to get back home to Genosha... And all without their powers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is just straight up me wanting more interactions between Pietro and his nephews. Thanks so much for reading and, as always, all comments and constructive criticism is welcome!

“Boys! _Boys!_ ” Wanda’s voice rang desperately through the castle corridors, laced with a frantic need to find her sons. Pieces of the walls crumbled overhead, but she paid neither it nor the servants dashing past her any mind. A particularly large piece of the ceiling fell not that far from her and she lifted her arms to block the dust from finding her eyes. “ _Boys!_ ”

“Wanda!” Suddenly familiar hands fell on her arms, holding her in place and the dust that had been kicked up began to settle. She peered over at her brother, equal parts relief and frantic concern etched into his features. “Thank goodness I found you. What are you still doing in here? It’s not safe!”

“My… My-” Wanda’s throat ran dry in the wake of all this dust and she coughed harshly a few times, trying to find her voice once again. Pietro’s fingers gripped her arm more tightly at this, as if that would somehow help her breath easier. “My _sons_ , Pietro. I can’t leave, without-”

“Okay, _okay_ ,” Pietro said, keeping his voice as calm as he could manage for his sister’s sake. “I’ll find them, Wanda, but you’ve got to get out, first. I can’t focus on getting them while you’re running around like this-”

“I’m not leaving them!” Wanda argued, a hint of angry desperation in her voice.

“You’re not!” Pietro insisted, quickly. There wasn’t _time_ for this, the walls already threatening to cave in on them, if the dust didn’t get to them, first, but Wanda wouldn’t be moved unless she was properly reassured. “You’re not. As soon as I get you out I’ll go back for them. I promise. Wanda, _I promise_. You need to come with me.”

He was so frantic, so _certain_ that she gave a shaken nod. He didn’t wait another second, scooping her up in his arms and taking her away from the danger, only a brief moment of cool air zipping past her before he was gently putting her on her feet, again, this time in a room better fit to withstand the oncoming disaster, aided by the father and sister holding the room together.

“Stay here,” Pietro told her, fingers splayed across her shoulders. “I will be _right back_ with them, Wanda, but I need your word that you’ll stay here.”

“Yes, yes, _please_ ,” She sounded so desperate, so broken – Almost as if she’d already lost them. “ _Please_ let them be okay-”

“They’re fine. They’re strong kids. Like their mother,” Pietro stayed a moment longer, brushing away the tears forming on her cheeks before he was gone, again; So quick, in fact, that Wanda was still leaning into his nonexistent touch by the time he had left the room behind. Pietro dodged several falling pieces of castle as he kept his eyes out for his nephews, ignoring the less fortunate servants that had already met their end. He didn’t want to think about them. Didn’t want to think about any of his family being one of them.

His velocity almost made him miss them, tucked under several fallen chucks of ceiling. William was breathing erratically, his distress clearly audible while his brother hissed back reassurances, his words clipped in what Pietro could only assume was pain. Thomas must have been hurt somehow. “Boys?”

“Uncle Pete!” Thomas called out, his voice a bit raspy from all the dust blowing around, particularly after Pietro’s abrupt stop. He sounded relieved, no doubt expecting Pietro to take over in comforting his anxious brother. A quick glance at the nearby structure showed that moving anything would only cause more damage than good and trying to blast away the debris separating them would be equally as bad. He frowned, taking a moment to access the situation.

“Uncle?” William’s voice called, clearly shaken by the turmoil around him, “What’s happening?”

“Shhh. Quiet, William,” Pietro answered back, short and determined, focused on a solution. William didn’t give a reply, even his breathing seeming to stop. Pietro glanced at his hand, watching the appendage as it sped up before sticking both directly through the fallen ceiling, each hands grabbing hold of one of the boys and pulling them both out of the structure. “There.”

“T-took... you long enough,” Thomas quipped, clearly strain due to his obvious pain. Pietro released both his nephews, but Thomas was just as quick to grip tightly to his uncle’s bicep and keep his weight off his right leg. “ _Fuck_.”

“You better not be kissing your mother with that mouth,” Pietro chided, distractedly as he tried to access the damage. “What happened?”

“Something fell on it,” Thomas answered. His face was twisted in pain and tears pricked gently at his eyes, through he was making a damned effort to keep them from falling.

“I think he may have broken it,” William added, hovering anxiously nearby.

“We need to get back to the others. Your mother is worried sick about you two,” Pietro stated, finishing his examination of Thomas’ leg and glancing up at his face. “Can you walk?”

“Yes,” Thomas answered, instantly and with a hint of aggression.

“No he can’t!” William objected, “He’s barely able to stand, and that’s with you holding him up!”

“I’m fine, Billy!” Thomas hissed, shooting his brother a glare which was returned with equal determination.

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Alright, shut up… Both of you,” Pietro groaned, rubbing his temple with his free hand. “We don’t have time for this. Thomas, if you’re not able to-”

“I a- _Woah_!” The ground under their feet shook with the sound of something impact it nearby and more ceiling pieces fell away, one nearly crushing William flat save for Pietro’s quick reflexes pulling him out of the way.

“Alright. Discussions over. Let’s go.” Pietro scooped them both up and tossed one boy over each shoulder, much to Thomas’ dismay. He had no problem voicing his objection, wiggling all over the place in an attempt to get free, but Pietro simply kept a tight hold on him and focused on getting through the palace. He heard the darker haired boy whimper slightly when they paused a moment to avoid a crumbling wall. A quick glance behind him told the other more than enough about what he was upset over. “William, don’t look at them. Close your eyes.”

“They’re dead-”

“ _Don’t look at them._ ” Pietro could hear his sister’s voice in his head already, berating him for letting her precious babies see all this. He let his mind focus on that to keep it from going to sadness over the lost lives or a protectiveness for the boys in his arms.

“But-”

“Now is _not_ the time to argue with me.” The witch didn’t respond, seemingly finally accepting his authority, but Pietro was smart enough to know the boy probably still had his eyes wide open. As long as William kept quiet, Pietro would let it slid.

An opening appeared and he was off, again, the palace and it’s disaster ripping past them. He heard a couple cries for help not to far off, but the thought to go assist whomever was calling to him came second to bringing Wanda back her sons. She would likely venture back out again to get them if he didn’t return soon and no rescue was worth putting her in danger. Not right now.

Relief touched him when he rounded a corner and spotted his family waiting in a room at the end of the hall, Wanda’s eyes immediately locking with his and a thankful smile falling over her expression. He was so focused on her, though, that he didn’t see his father glance a moment in his direction, Magnus’ eyes seeming to widen in alarm before he raised a hand and a bubble formed around Pietro, for only just long enough to force him backwards. Almost immediately after debris closed off their entrance, seemingly cutting off Pietro’s breath just as effortlessly as they’d been cut off from their family.

“No!” Pietro looked for an opening, but none was to be had. Everything was crumbling and without his father and sister’s powers holding the disaster at bay, there was no way that he would be able to stay within the walls. A glance outside quickly reminded him that he couldn’t go outside either, a sizable piece of flaming rock crashing into the palace a few floors below and shaking the entire structure. Screaming echoed around the open air, sobbing and shouts of pain acting as accents to it’s constant chime. Maybe he could vibrate the three of them though the fallen debris. The thing was thick as all hell and that much movement would probably make Tommy pass out, but if it meant their lives-

“ _Iwantustobesomewheresafe. Iwantustobesomewheresafe. Iwantustobesomewheresafe-_ ” All at once the world seemed to slow down, several things happening in rapid succession. The first was that he noticed the imminent approach of a meteor, the rock’s path much more direct this time. The second was the sudden buzz of of red energy that seemed to echo across his skin like electricity. The third and final thing was the burst of blue, that blinded him as the heard the last few words in a chant he was pretty sure William didn’t even know he was casting. “ _-somewheresafe!_ ”


	2. Chapter 2

Pietro groaned, not quite yet opening his eyes as consciousness washed over him, a headache quickly and painfully forming just beyond his vision. It took him a moment to open his eyes and even then, he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at.

All around him, skyscrapers seemed to tower above everything, the destruction of the palace far, far away. It look only a moment to sniff out the overpowering smell of street dogs and assholes underneath all the burning and chaos to know exactly where he was. Well, that and a broken sign hanging not to far away that read _Best Pi- New Yo-_ gave him a pretty good idea.

_Fantastic,_ He thought, looking around for any sign of the boys he’d been with. He found them nearby, both passed out in rather uncomfortable positions in a pile of garbage. He was beside them in an instant, shaking both to wakefulness. “Come on, sleeping beauties. Up and at ‘em.”

“’Ncle Pete?” Thomas asked, only to shout out in pain when he tried to move his leg and falling back into the pile of garbage with purpose. William glanced over at his brother with concern while rubbing his eye before turning to their uncle, expectantly.

“Where are we?” William asked, because that seemed to be the most appropriate question at the moment.

“New York,” Pietro answered back, gently running his thumb over Thomas’ leg to see how bad it still was. When the younger speedster gave out a choked sound, Pietro’s brow furrowed in confusion. Being a speedster, the kid should have an increased rate of healing, just like him, but it didn’t seem to be working for some reason. “Come here and heal your brother’s leg. This could be a problem if we don’t take care of it, now.”

William moved closer to help and gently pressed his fingers to Thomas’ injury. Thomas cringed, but stuffed his objections down, thinking the relief would come just after “I want Tommy to be healed… I want Tommy to be healed… I want Tommy to be healed...”

“What’s wrong?” Pietro asked, his expression growing somewhat annoyed.

“I don’t know,” William said, lifting his hands off of Thomas’ injury. The other relaxed just a bit at that. “It’s not working.”

“How is that possible? Your powers can’t just _not be working_ ,” Pietro returned a touch of accusation in his tone.

“Hey, _woah_ ,” Thomas reached out and put a hand on Pietro’s arm while giving him a really pointed look. “He tried his best. Lay off. Just gimme, like, five minutes and I’ll be right as rain.”

“No. You wont be,” Pietro returned, though he took the other’s suggestion and returned his tone to something a little more controlled. “Your acceleration isn’t working… Including your healing ability.”

“What? Of course it is. Watch.” Thomas waved his hand back and forth. “Wait a minute, I just gotta… This isn’t… _What?_ ”

“We’ll wrap it until we figure out what’s going on with you two,” Pietro replied, simply, “Sit tight.” The older speedster got to his feet, but the first step alone told him something was wrong. That his powers weren’t working, either. “ _Huh?_ ”

“Looks like you’re in the same boat as us, Uncle Pete,” Thomas gave a soft, bitter snort and let himself fall back so he was laying down in the garbage. “I can’t believe I’m going to die in a pile of trash.”

“You’re not going to die. Stop being so dramatic,” Pietro chastised, giving him a pointed look as he knelt back down beside the teen. Looking around, he managed to spot a piece of wood nearby and grabbed it, snapping the item in half and lining it up against either side of Thomas’ injury. “William. Hold these here.” The witch did as was asked of him and Pietro pulled off his shirt, tearing off a few strips and using them to tie the makeshift splint into place. “Sorry it’s not more comfortable, Kiddo, but it’ll hold out until we can find a hospital or something.”

“Awesome,” Thomas said, a cheeky smile forming on his lips. “Now I can fulfill my life long dream of dying in a _different_ pile of trash.”

“You’re a little bitch, you know that?” Pietro stated. Thomas just smiled back, brighter, as if he’d been given a raving compliment instead of insulted with a rather ordinary vulgarity.

“So… What now?” William asked.

Pietro helped Thomas to his feet, letting the boy lean heavily on him as he rose. William was quick to take his brother’s open side, the three of them scrunched together in a tight line.

“Now, we look for a payphone and make a long distance call back home… Assuming the phone lines are functioning, that is.” Pietro sighed, not wanting to think about the disaster he’d been in the middle of.”

“A payphone? Good luck with that one,” Thomas snorted. “If you can find a single functioning payphone in the area, I will personally punch Granddad in the face for you.”

“Tommy… I’m pretty sure that’s borderline treasonous,” William scowled, “But he’s right about the payphone thing, Pietro. This is why you guys should have let me have a cellpho-”

“Those things rot your brains,” Pietro quickly cut him off, leading them out of the alley and onto the streets, which were strangely void of life, almost like a ghost town.

“Lorna has one!” Billy argued.

“My point is proven.”

“ _Man_ , you are horrible,” Thomas chuckled, amused as he tried to wobble along on his broken leg. “I’m telling her you said that when we get home.”

“Do it. Maybe if the kids start in on it, she’ll see reason and toss the piece of junk.” Something was very off about the distinct lack of people. While not every corner was a den of hustle and bustle, it was an extreme rarity to walk the streets of the city and not find at least one other person out. It’d never happened in any of his previous visits to New York and it was quite worrisome that it chose to start now. Looking around, he could easily see that the meteors that had hit his home and many of the quakes and other disasters had hit the city just as badly. Fortunately, at least, the disaster seemed to have stopped, but even the sudden nature of that small blessing left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Pietro… Do you hear that?” His eyes flicked over to William, who stared behind them as if he wasn’t sure he could trust his own ears. The speedster listened, all of them holding their breaths a moment. He was almost going to say it was nothing when he heard it too.

The sound of a siren. The sound of _voices_.

“Come on,” Pietro hissed, pulling them along at a rushed hobble, Thomas and William both struggling to keep up with the sudden change of pace. The sounds were getting closer and there was no mistaking them now. He looked around desperately for a place to hide them. A place that would offer adequate protection and that others wouldn’t think to look in. “ _Now_ , boys.”

“We’re coming, Uncle Pete. What’s this about?” Thomas questioned, his brow furrowing in concern. Hobbling down the street, his sister’s son’s holding a little tighter onto him and one another so no one fell, Pietro felt a sudden wave of _dread_ run down his spine. A couple gun shots went off haphazardly in the distance and both his nephews had started. Pietro pushed them forward still, not letting them stop even to make a quick glance back. He couldn’t believe that he entire city had gone to _shit_ in the few moments since the world had ended.

Or had it been a couple hours? Or days? Pietro had no real idea how long it’d been since he’d been at home, avoiding the falling debris as the world burned around him, but it clearly had been too long.

The voices were drawing nearer and his instinct was to pull the boys a little closer. Nowhere looked that promising, but maybe he could try a couple doors that they passed. Surely one had to be unlocked…

He was about to steer them towards the next upcoming door when, suddenly, something grabbed William’s arm, pulling him out of his brother’s grasp. He spun to face it, prepared to punch whatever it was in the face, even with his nephew draped over his form. After all the anxiety the poor guy was put under, William did the only thing he could think to do.

He screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

“Shh!” An unfamiliar hand clamped down on William’s mouth, muffling the sound of his crying out. The person must have caught the venomous look in Pietro’s eye because he quickly ducked behind the witch, eying Pietro like the guy would kill him any second, “Listen! I’m here to help!”

William and the stranger exchanged a look, both waiting to see what the other would do before the hand was removed from William’s mouth and he stood there, his heart clearly racing as he spoke. “Who are you?”

“Introductions later,” the stranger insisted, urgently. “We don’t have a lot of time. The Purists are coming and we’re not exactly in the position to deal with them-”

“Who are the Purists?” Pietro demanded, his eyes narrowing as he took in this other individual. He was young, about the same age as his nephews, and dirty looking, like he hadn’t had a decent shower in months. Blonde hair hung slightly over his face, cut jaggedly as if he’d quickly done it himself with a pair of dull scissors. Blue eyes stared at each of them in turn, stunning and full of unadulterated worry. Over one shoulder was a bag, stuffed full and looking just as ragged as he did.

The speedster didn’t trust him at all.

“Anti-mutant group,” the blonde answered. “They rose up shorty after The Power Outage and have been running around the city, making asses of themselves and killing anyone who may even be suspected of being a mutant. I’ll explain more when we’re safe. _Come on_.” He took William by the hand, this time, and started pulling the witch away from his brother and uncle. The two were given no choice but to stumble along behind them, following the stranger through a broken window and a mostly empty convenience store, the shelves mostly barren and a few even knocked haphazardly into one another. Just outside, the sounds of voices was loud enough and close enough to make out what was being said.

“ _Are we gonna let some dirty muties walk out on our streets, boys?”_

_“No way!”_

_“Death to those demonic sons of bitches!”_

_“They’re all a bunch of faggots and_ _whores, the lot of ‘em!”_

William managed a glance back at Pietro and he wondered how he hadn’t seen exactly how much the boy looked like Wanda, in the past. Seeing his eyes wide in worry and alarm reminded Pietro of his sister when the two had only been children. He picked up his feet a bit more, to get closer to the stranger and maybe pull his nephew out of their grasp, but the blonde was too quick and William had since turned back to face forward. Pietro was venomously cursing his sudden loss of powers.

“In here,” the stranger said, stopping suddenly on the other side of the store. It took a moment for Pietro to figure out what they were talking about and even then, he only spotted the opening because the stranger had jarred open one of the freezers, revealing a very tight space opening up in the ceiling just above that seemed to lead to an upper level room. They all looked at him, unsure, but the desperation in his voice only seemed to increase. “I don’t have time to explain… _Please_.”

The voices were getting scarily close. The blonde locked his hands together and put them out like a step for William, who once again looked at Pietro for what to do. The sirens were shrieking at them, probably just around the corner from them, now. He nodded in acceptance of the plan. “Go.”

William didn’t need to be told twice, taking the offered step and grabbing hold of the ledge to pull himself up to the room above. Thomas was next, both the stranger and Pietro lifting him up high enough so William could help pull him the rest of the way, all with Tommy hissing every time his leg hit the wall on his way up. Finally, he too was in the safety of the room and the blonde offered a step for Pietro to get up with.

Even with all the distrust Pietro had, this stranger was just a kid and he was helping them. If the speedster went next, he knew it would be harder for this teen to get up after him. He, at least, would have the benefit of being taller, but the blonde wasted no breath in very pointedly telling him to just go with it and Pietro didn’t care quite enough to argue. He took the step, fulling expecting to have to reach down and grab the boy. The door of the freezer slid closed and Pietro peered down the hole, holding his arm out to reach for the other. It was a close reach and the other had to jump a bit to make it, but eventually the two of them managed to maneuver him into the hole and to safety.

“Shh. Not yet,” The stranger whispered when William went to open his mouth, holding one finger to his lips. He moved a piece of wood over the hole, effectively cutting out any visual for those who might be peering up at it, and then sat by one of the walls to wait. The other three did so as well, Pietro helping get Tommy settled as quietly as possible. They were close enough that any of them could have turned their foot and tapped another person on the thigh, what with the room them found themselves in being so small. Pietro considered saying something, but what happened next was enough to stun him into silence.

The voices were closer now, just below them at this point, as the window from the front was shattered a little more.

“ _You see ‘em anywhere, Rick?”_

_“_ _Nah. We sure they didn’t sneak in one of the other places before here?”_

_“The others are checking the nearby stores, but they definitely went this way and it’s not like the muties can get very far. One of them was hurt, so unless they ditched him somewhere, the other two can’t be far behind.”_

_“Does seem like the heartless shit that they would do, though.”_

_“True. If that’s the case we’ll find that albino fucker around here somewhere. Think the boss’ll let me have this one?”_

_“He’s probably gonna wanna take the bastard back to question him, first, but then it’s a toss up. Why?”_

_“It’s just been a while since we found one of ‘em alive, even hurt. Watching the look in their eyes when they know they’re about to be sent back to the hell they crawled out of is the best part.”_

_“You get a glimpse of that hair, too? Looked kinda like the_ _G_ _enoshits, huh? The fast ones?”_

_“Oh yeah! The son right? Or who was the other one? The kid?”_

_“Think it was the bitch’s boy.”_

_“Yeah… Pity she turned out to be spawn of satan, herself. I certainly wouldn’t have minded showing her my-”_

Pietro felt a shift of moment to his left and glanced over to see Thomas fuming, just short of having smoke come out of his ears. He looked about ready to go downstairs and show these bastards who was in charge, broken leg be damned, and Pietro couldn’t exactly blame him. He had half a mind to go down there and take them, himself, but there was something about seeing that look reflected in the eyes of his nephew that made him think that was probably a really bad idea… Especially right at this moment. He pushed Thomas back down when he moved to get up, shaking his head, disapprovingly.

A shelf clattered below and it caused all of them to jump, William the most so. _“Come out, come out, little muties!_ _If you work with us, we’ll make it quick for you!”_

The stranger placed a hand on William’s arm, offering the most comfort he could give in this situation. Pietro’s eyes followed the silent conversation they had with one another, a frown forming on his lips.

Eventually, the sounds of movement and voices faded below and after what felt like forever even the siren began to fade, the Purists driving off and looking elsewhere for them. Even after this, they sat for some time, just incase. Finally, the stranger began to move, though he still refused to speak. He made a gesture for them to follow him and disappeared through the door at the far end of the room, away from the hole they’d entered through.

Pietro concluded that they were in what once was someone’s apartment, although the entire place had clearly taken a beating. The staircase that would have led to the ground floor was caved in, cutting out entrance through any conventional means. A hole in one of the walls was a large step away from a rooftop and their guide headed out that direction, clearly on a mission. A board nearby allowed for crossing onto a different rooftop, although it didn’t look particularly sturdy. When they hesitated a moment, the stranger gave an understanding smile.

“It’s alright. I go this way all the time to get home,” he promised, “Just take it slow and it’s perfectly safe.”

They let the blonde lead them through the city, taking several peculiar back-routes to get where he was going, but they didn’t run into anyone, at least, and Pietro was grateful for that. Finally, he stopped them just before a door on a roof, as if only now realizing that he was being followed by absolute strangers. He glanced over at each of them, his brow furrowing slightly. The last one his eyes connected with was William and whatever look the witch was giving him must have been enough to convince him. He dug a key out of his pocket and opened up the door, allowing them all to get inside before closing it hastily behind them and sliding the lock into place. The key was, once again, tucked away and he led them down the stairs to an apartment complex, just as empty and destroyed as the ones they’d passed on the way here.

One apartment had a door completely off it’s hinges, the wood sitting beside the opening as if it’d been placed there, purposefully. The stranger led the way into this particular apartment, holding tightly onto the bag slung over his shoulder and looking the smallest bit guilty. “Hey, Mom? I’m home...”

“Theodore Rufus Altman! You better have a damn good reason to be home so late, young man, so help me I will… Um.” As soon as the blond – Theodore, apparently, had spoken, a female voice had started reprimanding from within the apartment, startling Pietro and his two nephews, and causing Theodore to wince slightly at her tone. As soon as she appeared in the hallway, though, he spotted the visitors and paused, trying to process what was happening. Finally, she turned to what Pietro assumed was her son and gave him a pointed look. “Okay… Explain.”

“I was out looking for supplies and these three were running around in the middle of the street where anyone can see them!” Teddy hastily complied with her command. “I figured they just wandered into the city and didn’t know any better. One of them is hurt, Mom, I couldn’t just-”

“Who’s hurt?” She turned her attention to the three more fully, finally taking in the fact that Tommy had his leg pretty crudely wrapped and was heavily leaning on Pietro at his point, although he was trying to make it seem like he wasn’t. “ _Oh!_ Quick, let’s get him to the couch. Tell me what happened.”

Pietro and Tommy were ushered further into the apartment by the woman, leaving Theodore and William to stare after her, both a little disoriented over everything that had happened. They glanced at one another, Theodore giving an awkward smile that William couldn’t help but return, just as awkwardly.

“We should probably...” Theodore muttered, nodding towards the direction that the others had gone.

“Oh… Right, sure.” William agreed.

“Okay… So… Let’s go.” Theodore said and then immediately turned on his heel, disappearing into the apartment. William followed behind him, hoping he’d finally have a moment to rest after… _Everything_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am absolute garbage for dorky, awkward, pre-relationship Wickling.


	4. Chapter 4

“It’s fortunate for you that Teddy managed to find you,” the woman said as she rummaged through her things together to address Tommy’s leg, which was laid out on the couch for her to see properly. She was sitting on the coffee table, her back to most of the room. William and Theodore had both claimed one of the nearby chairs for themselves and Pietro hovered against the far wall, his arms crossed in a universal gesture of being closed off. “I’m a nurse-in-training, so I will be able to get this properly taken care of, but you should still avoid walking on it for some time. All the stress you’ve put on it up to this point is definitely not good.”

“Yes’m,” Tommy muttered, his eyes closed and his head resting against the armrest of the couch, letting his outward mask fall just the slightest bit in exhaustion. The woman gave a small, understanding smile and moved his hair out of his face before going back to work.

“So, Teddy says he found you wandering the streets. I imagine you must have just gotten into the city,” the woman started up a conversation, directed at the other two visitors. “It’s dangerous out there since the Purists took over, so I’m glad my son was able to find you before they did. You are all welcome to stay here as long as you need to. We’re running on limited resources, but I’m sure we can manage to find some to share.”

“We don’t want to impose on you,” William said, his expression sheepish. “You’ve both already done so much...”

“Oh, _nonsense_. You boys aren’t in any position to move with this one, anyways.” the woman insisted, earning herself an indignant noise from her patient.

“I can move just fine!” Thomas insisted, making a move to get up and prove himself, but one look from the nurse had him settling back into the couch, “I mean, I _can_ , but I don’t wanna give Doctor Altman a heart attack, you know.”

“Patricia, if you please. Or even Patty, if you'd like.” she gave him one last fond smile before turning slightly to face the others. “You’ve already met my son, Teddy, of course. Do you boys have names?”

Pietro noticed the way William sat up a little straighter, taking a deep breath, as if he was about to bestow the Altman’s with some great gift of knowledge as he’d always been taught to. He knew if he was going to stop this, he’d have to act quickly. “I am Pri-”

“My name’s Pietro… Maximoff. These are my nephews, William and Thomas. We’re from Upstate and were not expecting things to be this bad.” William glanced over at his uncle, confused, but a look between them told him to hold any questions he had for later.

Patricia gave them a look, like she could tell they weren’t telling the truth completely, but she said nothing of it if she did. “Upstate, huh? I was hoping that things were better out there, by now. It’s been a few months since we’ve had any word reach us here, but the rebuilding efforts were supposed to get out there by now.”

“I’m sure they made it, Mom,” Theodore reached over and took her hand in his, “They’re just waiting for the rest of the people left here to go join them.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but is there a reason they wouldn’t get out there?” William asked. They both turned to look at him, as if only just remembering that the three visitors didn’t know how the city works.”

“The Purists are _very_ particular about people coming and going from the city,” Theodore explained still holding onto his mother’s hand. “There are small passages that people can take, undetected, but a group of this size was going to need to go through the main roads, which is where the purists are most active. It wa very risky… But they took the few mutants who still had their abilities so I’m sure they’re fine!”

“Sounds like a suicide mission to me,” Thomas muttered, only to have several eyes swivel over to him in surprise. Even Pietro raised an eyebrow. “Wait… Fuck, I mean-”

“Language, Dear,” Patricia scolded, lightly. “But it’s alright. You are not wrong, just tactless. I like to be optimistic like Teddy here, but I fear that they did not make it out of the city at all.”

“Unless you were sent by them?” Theodore turned to William, flickering hope evident in his eyes. “I mean, you came from Upstate, so maybe...”

William’s face fell further, almost wanting to lie and say they _were_ sent by the group just to keep Theodore from being crushed, but the more falsehoods they told the harder it would be to keep track of them all. “No… I’m sorry. We haven’t met anyone from the city… But they could still be out there! Upstate is big enough.”

“Yeah,” Theodore agreed, but he didn’t sound like he believed it very much. “I mean, they took almost all of the super people left after the Power Outage, so...”

“You mentioned that before,” Pietro noted, “Back when we met. What is it?”

“It’s uh...” Theodore bit his lip, trying to word what he wanted to say correctly. “It’s how people refer to the whole incident almost 18 months ago. You know, meteors falling from the sky, ground shaking, horrible diseases spreading through people and animals alike, the whole mutants losing their powers thing.”

“18 months?” Pietro hissed, suddenly very aware of the conversation.

“Wait, other mutants have lost their powers, too?” Thomas questioned. “I thought we were just weirdly unlucky or something.”

“No, it’s definitely not just you,” Theodore assured him. “There’s hardly anyone left with their abilities. It’s been pretty horrifying. I was really fortunate to still have them, but… Not everyone was as lucky.”

“Have you not heard about any of this?” Patricia asked, confusion covering her expression.

“We knew about the meteors and the quakes, ‘cuz they hit us, too.” Pietro answered, truthfully. “We haven’t encountered any other mutants since then, though, so we thought the loss of powers was an isolated event.”

“Must be a relief to know you’re not alone in this,” Theodore noted.

Pietro glanced off to the side, thinking about how Genosha must be in ruin because of this. Serves his father right, but he can’t help worry what had happened to Wanda in all this. “Not particularly, no.”

There was a few beats of awkward silence before Patricia stood up, drawing all eyes to her. “Well, I should see about dinner. Teddy, did you manage to find anything around your heroism?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Theodore finally pulled the bag off and handed it to her, “A couple canned things under some shelfs. Not as much as I would have liked, but-”

“It’s fantastic, Dear,” Patricia pressed a kiss to his temple and carried the bag to the kitchen to try and fix them dinner. “Please... Make yourselves at home.”

“This is a rather nice place,” Pietro noted, once Patricia had left, “Almost everything is still in tact. You were very lucky to find this place, considering the state of the rest of the city.”

“Oh, we didn’t find it… This was our apartment before everything happened,” Theodore explained, with a shrug. “A lot of the lower floors were really badly damaged, though, so it’s almost impossible to safely get in that way, hence our entrance from the roof. I found the key in the sixth floor office so we can get in and out that way. As far as I know, everyone else left or died in their attempts to get out. We were going to go, too, but we didn’t want to get hurt or separated in the chaos and when everything settled we just sort of decided to stay. The Purists haven’t been able to get in here to find us and up until about six months ago we lived a lot off of our own food and the food from our neighbors. I go out scavenging now, when I can. Mom wants to come, too, but it’s dangerous and she doesn’t have abilities like I do.”

“If this is your place, why was the door ripped off?” Thomas demanded.

“I got, uh, anxious and ripped it off, one time. We just haven’t had the means to fix it, yet,” Theodore admitted, embarrassed.

“You ripped your own door off?” Pietro narrowed his eyes, suspiciously.

“Ha! Talk about fail,” Thomas chuckled.

“I dunno… I think that’s kinda ho- Uh, _cool_ , actually?” William muttered, earning a look from his family and a thankful smile from Theodore.

“You want to see my room?” Theodore asked, “We could kill some time before dinner is ready. It’s kinda full of a lot of my superhero memorabilia, so it’s cool if it’s too nerdy for you, but-”

“Yes!” William was already out of his seat, his face lighting up in excitement before he realized that he answered a little _too_ passionately and he tried, again. “I mean, yeah, if you wouldn’t mind… That’d be great. I love superheroes.”

“Really? That’s awesome! I haven’t been able to talk about them in months!” Before anyone could object, the two of them were already headed for one of the hallways, talking animatedly to one another, William throwing a couple hand gestures in there for good measure. Pietro glares at Theodore’s back, unhappily.

“God, they are so gross,” Thomas piped up, being a little bit louder than necessary, probably just so William could hear him. “They better not be going in there just to mack on each other!”

William’s groan of exasperation could be heard, although he didn’t reappear. Thomas started crackling to himself, clearly successful in his attempt to annoy his baby brother. Pietro went back to leaning on the wall, but he couldn’t help the feeling in his gut that the other shoe was about to drop at any moment.


	5. Chapter 5

“I still can’t believe you found Spider-Man chicken noodle soup,” Patricia chuckled as they all sat around the living room. Thomas had been propped up more properly to eat his soup, leaving a space at the end of the couch for Pietro to sit, although he had to be careful not to knock into his nephew’s leg. Patricia had repurposed one of the chairs for herself. Theodore and William had decided to compensate for that by both taking over one chair, Theodore sitting precariously on one of the arm rests, a soup bowl in his lap.

“Guess it was just a lucky day,” Theodore shrugged, sticking his spoon in his bowl of soup and bringing it to his mouth.

“I must admit, I do not see the appeal of eating the webslinger’s face,” Pietro admitted, lifting up a spoon where one of the noodles shaped exactly like his mask sat. He put it back and tried, again.

“I’m sure Billy can see the appeal in it, though,” Thomas smirked, shooting William a sly look. “Can’t you, Baby Brother?”

“You’re the actual _worst_ ,” William complained, hiding his face in his hands. Patricia, Thomas and Theodore all gave varying levels of laughter. Conversation seemed to be dominated mostly by William and Theodore, with Thomas making witty remarks when appropriate. Eventually, the sun had set and everyone was thinking of heading to bed.

“You boys can take Teddy’s room,” Patricia suggested, nodding at Pietro and William. “Tommy, you’re welcome to stay here on the couch.”

“You mean I have no choice, I’m going to stay on the couch if I value my life, right?” Thomas corrected, cheekily.

Patricia leaned over and messed up his hair for that comment. “You’re a smart boy.”

“I would feel more comfortable staying with both my nephews,” Pietro began, only to get Patricia’s look leveled at him.

“You must be dead tired after your journey. My son can spare his bed. I only wish we had more so you don’t have to share.” The finality in her words was enough to convince William, who quickly said he was going to bed and wasn’t going to waste time arguing about it. Theodore, it was decided, would share his room with his mother and Thomas would get the couch all to himself thanks to his injury.

Eventually, Pietro found himself in the kitchen, wiping down their dishes to try to clean them without running water. For a moment, they were silent, but eventually Patricia spoke up, careful to keep her voice low incase the teens weren’t quite asleep, yet. “I get the impression that you don’t quite trust us, Pietro.”

“It’s nothing personal,” Pietro answered, simply. It wasn’t exactly like he was being secretive about it, so denying it would not really do them any good.

“No, I didn’t think it was,” Patricia gave a soft chuckle, her eyes sparkling sadly, even in the darkness. “All of this must have been very scary for you boys. I would probably be the same way, but you’re all so… Young. I just can’t help myself. I have a soft spot for kids.”

“I’m not that young,” Pietro returned, the insult clear in his voice. With how many times his father and various other leaders had put down his abilities because of his age, it was no wonder the speedster took the particular statement a little hard.

“Oh, sweetheart, I didn’t mean it like that,” Patricia assured him, reaching out and lightly pinching his cheek. “It’s just that you’ve still got so much of your life ahead of you and you’re still so full of passion. It’s sad that you’ve already become bitter and had the responsibility of two boys who aren’t you own placed upon your shoulders.”

“You’re barely older than I am,” Pietro stated. He didn’t know her exact age, but her appearance didn’t suggest she was very far off from him.

Patricia simply smiled, her expression distant and fond. “Trust me, Pietro. I am a tad older than my face gives me credit for.”

There was something unsaid in that statement and Pietro was tempted to ask about it, but he didn’t. Whether out of polities or because he genuinely didn’t want to discover what it was, he wasn’t sure. He asked something else, instead. “Why are you being so nice to us? What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything from you,” Patricia stated, simply. When that didn’t convince Pietro, she gave a soft sigh and tried again. “You have to understand that I am a mother. If it was my boy that was out there, frightened or hurt, I would want someone to show him kindness. Isn’t that what your mother would want for you?”

Pietro paused, considering the question carefully. He could lie or be confrontational about the question, but something about talking to Patricia made it easier. She just gave off the very atmosphere of someone who truly meant well. Even so, he was quiet and withdrawn as he spoke. “I… I wouldn’t know. My mother is dead.”

If anything, this only made Patricia more sympathetic, more welcoming, instead of making things awkward or pitiful like it would with most. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”

“It happened a long time ago,” Pietro stated, as if brushing aside the fact, trying to pretend he hadn’t even brought it up. “She died in childbirth. I never knew her.”

“I’m sure she would have been proud of you,” Patricia replied, “I would if you were my boy.”

Pietro gave her a look, almost like he didn’t believe her. “What would make you say that? You don’t even know me.”

“I know you’ve managed to survive this long in a horrible disaster. I know you have taken two helpless boys under your protection. I know that you value your family, if the look in your eye when you speak about them is any indication.” Patricia gave him a playful smile. “I know you helped me clean up after dinner, which is more than I can even say for my own son and he’s a _very_ good boy, if I do say so myself.”

Pietro laughed, but there was a sort of disbelief in the sound, as if he couldn’t quite accept all of this. Not after everything that he’d ever been through; After everything that had ever happened to him and his sisters. If Patricia picked up on it, she didn’t say anything of it and the conversation carried to lighter things, but Pietro couldn’t get the though of her words out of his head.

His whole life, he’d always tried so hard to do things right, to protect his baby sisters and uphold an appearance fit for a crowned prince and what had he ever gotten in return? His father’s disappointment, more often than not. Distinct memories of the room shaking from such a young age that it haunted him even to this day. He’d gotten looked down upon by kings all over the world because he wasn’t his father. He got told off by his sisters for being ill-tempered or overbearing. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had told them they were proud of him. That he was doing the right thing. He didn’t even know if his father had spoken those exact words in his life, with the exception of a gruff, _This’ll do_ or _As I expect from you_.

He’d been here but a few hours and Patricia had told him exactly what he needed to hear.

William was still awake when Pietro entered, already changed into pajamas that he must have borrowed from Teddy. Patricia had shoved a pile of clothes into his hands, apologizing that they didn’t have more in his size, before she’d sent him off to bed. Quickly, he got into them, noting they were a bit tight but not horrible. William scooted over and Pietro squeezed in beside him, the two managing to fit together on the bed.

If he closed his eyes, he was reminded of the one time when he and Wanda had tried to run away from home. They’d gotten a good couple of miles in and had slept together under the stars on top of a blanket he’d stuffed in the bag on his sister’s back. The memory was a rather good one, just laying in the grass long after they should have been home and talking, their soft giggles heard only by the sky and the earth. The trouble he’d been in when Shaw had found him the next morning and all but dragged him home by the ear had been well worth it.

“Pietro?” William broke the moment, drawing his uncle’s gaze. The teen, himself, didn’t look up as he spoke his eyes locked on the middle of Pietro’s chest. It was almost as if he was guilty for asking. “Why didn’t we tell them who we really were?”

Pietro had almost forgotten about the moment where he’d stepped in earlier, the days events all seeming to blend together. Of course _that’s_ what the witch would have questions about. “It’s for our safety. I wasn’t sure if we could trust them, yet.”

“They seem really nice,” William pointed out, “Letting us stay here and feeding us and all that.”

Pietro thought about his conversation not to long ago with Patricia. “Yes, I suppose they do.”

“So, we can tell them the truth tomorrow, right?”

Pietro frowned, not quite able to bring himself to agree to that, but not sure how to explain this to the idealistic teen. He was just a boy who believed in the thankless good of heroes and that whole peaceful coexistence that the king sometimes preached to repay a lost friend. Telling him that he didn’t want to say because of political disputes and double crossers seemed like the exact kind of thing Wanda would get on his case about. He needed a different tactic with the boy. “William, you are fond of our host’s son, right? This Theodore is someone you’d like to be your... _Friend_?”

“Yeah,” William got a slightly goofy smile on his face and Pietro pushed down the urge to tell him that teenage flings rarely works out and that he should just drop his crush before it got out of hand. “He’s pretty cool, I guess.”

“And you want him to like you for you, right?” Pietro continued. The amount of patience he seemed to have with his nephews surprised even him and, yet, here he was.

“Yeah...”

“Don’t you think that being the prince of a big and powerful country would kind of put a kink in that plan?” The speedster concluded, causing a frown to form on William’s face. It was clear that he was beginning to see Pietro’s plan a little more. “I mean, royalty comes with all sorts of stereotypes and preconception. Even if he _tries_ to pretend like it doesn’t mean anything, he wont be able to help it. Do you really want to do that to your very new, very _fragile_ friendship?”

Whoever dared to say he didn’t have his father’s negotiation skills could shove it up an orifice of their choosing. After a few moments of internal debate, William seemed to deflate, his head coming to rest on Pietro’s shoulder and this was how the speedster knew he’d won. “No, you’re right.”

Pietro thought back on times that Wanda had consoled the boy by running her fingers through the witch’s hair and gave it a go, himself, trying to sooth the worry still resting just below the surface. William glanced up at his face, brown eyes wide in surprise, but that quickly faded to a sort of sleepy contentment. It was clear that the day’s trials were beginning to wear heavy on his nephew.

“Pietro-”

“Kid,” he interrupted, quiet yet firm. “Go to sleep. We will talk more in the morning.”

“But-”

“ _Good_ _night_ , William.”

He huffed, but seemed to settle down, driven towards sleep with the way Pietro’s fingers still carded through his hair. His reply was more yawn than anything. “Good night, Uncle.”


End file.
